Hitting the treadmill will burn calories, and that's the key to weight loss. You'll need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of fat. While your 30-minute treadmill workouts won't approach that, they will help you chip away at the pounds if you perform them regularly.
Walk This Way
Walking on the treadmill at a leisurely pace of 3.5 mph a 125-pound person burns about 120 calories in 30 minutes. A heavier person will burn more calories however. For instance, a 185-pound person will burn 178 calories doing the same activity. This wont add up to significant weight loss however; burning 120 calories works out to a loss of about half an ounce of fat, while 178 calories is equal to about 0.8 ounces.
Stepping It Up
Walking briskly on the treadmill for 30 minutes, at a speed of 4.5 mph, a 125-pound person will burn around 150 calories. For a 185-pound person this works out to about 222 calories. While this is an improvement over walking at a leisurely pace, it's still not a major fat burner. This works out to a loss of about 0.6 ounces for the 125-pound person and 1 ounce for the 185-pound person.
